You know how science works: some studies say that video games are bad and some studies say that playing games "drastically improve the reading abilities of children with dyslexia." Who can you trust?

Lou Salza's insight:

Caution needed here! Who was it that said that to every complex problem there was a solution that was simple, inexpensive, easy to implement and wrong? If it seems to good to be true--it probably is!

Lou

"The University of Padua published a paper on Thursday entitled, "Action Video Games Make Dyslexic Children Read Better." The study claims to "demonstrate that only 12 hr of playing action video games—not involving any direct phonological or orthographic training—drastically improve the reading abilities of children with dyslexia."

In the experiment, kids between 7-13 were separated into two groups. The first group had nine 80-minute sessions with Rayman Raving Rabbids, while the second group played a more subdued game. After this, the kids' reading skills were tested and those who played Rayman Raving Rabbids were able to read faster and more accurately than the other group. This certainly does seem like a strange correlation, but we're interested to learn more about how games might help kids with reading problems."

Scott Looney, head at the Hawken School in Cleveland since 2006, is an advocate for advanced student-centered and authentic learning. He knew there was a better way to signal student success but realized it was both a supply and demand problem--high schools needed to update the transcript and colleges needed to agree to accept the new evidence of learning.

Looney launched the Mastery Transcript Consortium (@MastTranscript) in 2017. The new nonprofit started by defining the problem: current transcripts mark time not learning--they value information regurgitation over making meaning, disciplines over integration, extrinsic over intrinsic rewards, and encourage grade inflation. The whole charade is based on the premise that grades are replicable, validated and meaningful.

Lou Salza's insight:

The traditional high school transcript is both broken and obsolete. Lawrence School is excited and proud to be a member of the MTC! -Lou

Senator Patrick J. Diegnan, Jr.(D-18) today touted a state budget resolution he sponsored that will appropriate $1.5 million dollars for 6,002 New Jersey public school students across the state with disabilities, such as dyslexia, who will have access to a critical accommodation—accessible human-narrated audiobooks.

“An unperceived plight of our education system is too many children with reading disabilities like dyslexia go either unidentified or receive ineffective assistance,” said Senator Diegnan (D-Middlesex). “With these additional resources, we can help dyslexics learn to read proficiently and to leverage audiobooks and other aids to enrich and improve their learning while building their self-confidence and self-image.”

With the school year commencing, national statistics say that up to 1 in 5 students will have a learning difference. That equates to about 10 million K-12 students nationally who have trouble reading print content, according to Learning Ally, a non-profit organization that helps students with print disabilities such as blindness, visual impairment and dyslexia. The organization offers programs to improve the way students learn at home and in the classroom.

All my life I‘ve felt denied – by school, teachers, and peers. But Lawrence has helped me see the world bright and clear. Here, I feel valued and accepted. For me and my fellow seniors, our future is near.

A single individual is enough for hope to exist, and that individual can be you, says His Holiness Pope Francis in this searing TED Talk delivered directly from Vatican City. In a hopeful message to people of all faiths, to those who have power as well as those who don't, the spiritual leader provides illuminating commentary on the world as we currently find it and calls for equality, solidarity and tenderness to prevail. "Let us help each other, all together, to remember that the 'other' is not a statistic, or a number," he says. "We all need each other."

Hawken's head of school D. Scott Looney hates letter grades so much that he's building a national movement to get rid of them.

Looney, whose school boasts campuses in Lyndhurst and Gates Mills, has put together a coalition of more than 100 of the nation's most-powerful private schools pushing for a dramatic redesign of the standard college transcript that has been in use for well over a century. This, too, is much more than a meeting of the minds, but rather a well-financed, well-connected and deeply passionate group of educators who believe they have what it takes to unwind a century's worth of educational pedagogy.

Dramatic? Yes, but that's entirely the point.

"When I finally shuffle out of the educational business into retirement or death, I want to know I tried to fix the system because it's broken," Looney said. "It's hurting kids, and it's unhealthy."

Lou Salza's insight:

"The public purpose of private education is to be the vanguard — laboratory schools — for what really floats the boat. Across the country, independent schools have been innovators." Mr. Salza was recently quoted in this Crain's Cleveland Business article about the Mastery Transcript Consortium. Lawrence is proud to stand with Hawken School and Laurel School - and with more than 100 independent schools nationwide - at the forefront of this important conversation!

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Research Institute for Learning and Development (ResearchILD) has been selected as one of 100 local nonprofits to receive a grant of $100,000 through the Cummings Foundation’s $100K for 100 program. ResearchILD, an internationally recognized educational research organization, develops educational programs for children, adults, and adolescents with learning and attention differences. ResearchILD was chosen from more than 370 applicants during a competitive review process by the Cummings Foundation. The grant will be used to support the SMARTS Executive Function and Mentoring Program as part of the “After the Bell” program at the James L. McKeown Boys & Girls Club of Woburn, MA.

You know that old interview question: What would change in education if you had a magic wand? For Scott Looney, there’d be no hesitating: He would have every school switch from traditional grading to competency-based evaluations. “’They’re more authentic, more meaningful, and more logical,” he explains. “They just make sense.”

Looney is the mastermind behind the Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC), an organization made up of over 100 private schools. Rather than a traditional GPA, the group imagines a credit-based transcript , with links to artifacts that demonstrate students’ mastery across different competencies. The basic premise is that by providing a more complex and accurate picture of students, academic needs can be better met, colleges can make more informed admissions decisions, and intrinsic motivation will follow.

For over 75 years, Harvard's Grant and Glueck study has tracked the physical and emotional well-being of two populations: 456 poor men growing up in Boston from 1939 to 2014 (the Grant Study), and 268 male graduates from Harvard's classes of 1939-1944 (the Glueck study).

Due to the length of the research period, this has required multiple generations of researchers. Since before WWII, they've diligently analyzed blood samples, conducted brain scans (once they became available), and pored over self-reported surveys, as well as actual interactions with these men, to compile the findings.

The conclusion? According to Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one thing surpasses all the rest in terms of importance:

"The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period."

Not how much is in your 401(k). Not how many conferences you spoke at--or keynoted. Not how many blog posts you wrote or how many followers you had or how many tech companies you worked for or how much power you wielded there or how much you vested at each.

No, the biggest predictor of your happiness and fulfillment overall in life is, basically, love.

Lou Salza's insight:

"The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period."

"It’s no secret that the Great Lakes are suffering tremendous ecological strain — Lake Erie was even pronounced “dead” for a time during the 1960s because of an overload of phosphorus from municipal waste. Back in 1615, though, when the entire region was pristine and explorers Samuel de Champlain and Étienne Brûlé gazed out together from Lake Huron’s shores, they dubbed it la mer douce, 'the sweet sea.' Today roughly one-quarter of Canada’s population and a 10th of America’s population drink from the Great Lakes basin; the beleaguered lakes alone hold more than a fifth of Earth’s freshwater."

Questions to Ponder: What watershed do you live in? Where does your drinking water come from? When you flush the toilet, where does it go? How are places in your watershed linked? How does this similar map shed more light on these issues?

Six simple questions can reliably identify adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to a World Health Organization advisory group working with two additional psychiatrists.

The questions are:

How often do you have difficulty concentrating on what people say to you, even when they are speaking to you directly? How often do you leave your seat in meetings and other situations in which you are expected to remain seated? How often do you have difficulty unwinding and relaxing when you have time to yourself? When you're in a conversation, how often do you find yourself finishing the sentences of the people you are talking to before they can finish them themselves? How often do you put things off until the last minute? How often do you depend on others to keep your life in order and attend to details? The response options are "never," "rarely," "sometimes," "often" or "very often."

"It's very important to look at the questions in their totality, not each individual symptom," says Dr. David Goodman, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who was not involved in the study. "No single question stands out as indicating ADHD."

Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey, the authors found that the six questions appear to reliably, and specifically, screen for ADHD in adults. That could allow primary care physicians who have limited time with each patient to quickly and easily determine whether to recommend patients for further psychiatric evaluation, or even to prescribe medication.

Lou Salza's insight:

Simple but apparently reliable screening device to identify the possibility of ADHD in adults. --Lou

In June 2012, Head of School Dennis Bisgaard founded the Kingswood Oxford Leadership Institute for Educators of Color, meant to provide education, resources, and networking opportunities for people of color on the path toward becoming Senior Administrators or Heads of School at independent schools.

The Leadership Institute was created in response to a stark reality in the independent school profession at the time: Out of 1,400 schools that belong to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), only 4% -- 50 schools -- are led by a person of color. The percentage of female Heads, while not quite as low, is still surprisingly small, especially at the high school level.

The mission of the KO Leadership Institute is to help educators of color explore, prepare for, and position themselves for passageway into leadership roles within independent schools. Several national experts serve in advisory capacities and/or as presenters at the Institute.

Lou Salza's insight:

In our schools reside potential leaders who need recognition, encouragement, professional development opportunities along with a network outside their own schools to see themselves in leadership roles--Thank you Dennis Bisgaard and K-O!--Lou

I doubt that anyone is ever "made by dyslexia" as Richard Branson says here. The word dyslexia informs and describes but does not define us. But if you own a controlling interest in Great Britain; you can say whatever you want and people will listen!

When I was in fourth grade, I had to leave the science movie about a starving deer herd. As I sobbed in the company of the school secretary, she comforted me, murmuring that I was sensitive. Years later, I listened to a student explain that one deer fed his whole family for the weekend. I relented slightly in the face of practicality and poverty, but I remain sensitive and deer-crazed. Fawns represent hope. And white deer, my favorite, represent wonder.

In Native American culture, all-white animals of any species are considered sacred. For me, white deer feel inexplicable, exquisite. DNA or genetic mutations seem too rational an explanation for their beauty. In the times I have been fortunate to see them, I’ve felt transformed, too, as if I have born witness to something rare, the way I felt when I held one of my babies in my arms for the very first time. Awe and wonder.

Lou Salza's insight:

Anne is Headmistress of @CRGLaurelSchool a close friend and excellent colleague as well as a keen observer of the human condition. -Lou

The compass is a constant reminder of how, as a faculty, we are not only responsible for leading engaging and meaningful lessons in our classrooms, but shaping and developing young adults into kind and courageous humans.Traits such as compassion, advocacy, and integrity represent three of the eight qualities we aim to instill in our students when they leave our campus.

Lou Salza's insight:

The compass is a constant reminder of how, as a faculty, we are not only responsible for leading engaging and meaningful lessons in our classrooms, but shaping and developing young adults into kind and courageous humans.

In the end, there are fewer essential differences between public and private schools than one might expect. They are all ultimately teaching and learning communities. The best public school administrators already know how to create small pockets of flexibility for key initiatives like these, which are everyday practice at private schools. It is time for our districts and school boards to take note and help create more such opportunities.

"CUNY Start holds some clues on how to solve an education crisis. Nationwide, only 35 percent of those who start community college receive any form of credential within six years. At urban community colleges, the six-year graduation rate is only 16 percent. ....

The biggest academic stumbling blocks are remedial math and English courses. More than two-thirds of community college students must take at least one such class, and there they languish. Only a third of those referred to remedial math, and less than half those who take remedial reading, pass. Just 15 percent of students who take remedial classes at two-year colleges earn a certificate or degree on time. ....

The CUNY Start model is different. Full-time students are exclusively in Start classes for 25 hours a week — substantially more than the usual course load — for one semester. The focus is on thinking, not memorization. “Math isn’t just memorization,” Ms. Fells told me. “I teach them how to investigate problems — how to think."

Lou Salza's insight:

High School and College math requirements are used to "sort" students in the USA. Those with privilege attend schools where they are steeped in skills and effective curriculum. Those in stressed communities with poor schools fall behind early and stay behind. CUNY offers a model that we ought to pay close attention to and use everywhere to change the trajectory of high school students and at risk college matriculants. Oh and while we are at it--why not change how we teach math to children in the primary grades and all through elementary school. Let's teach children to think and quit teaching math like it is a guessing game requiring excessive memorization of math facts. --Lou

Question stems can be a powerful part of that process no matter where the learner is. Assessment (pre-assessment, self-assessment, formative and summative assessment), prompting and cueing during discussion, etc. In that light, the following 25+ question stems framed around the early, non-revised Bloom’s Taxonomy are worth a gander.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is expanding a program that lets students with dyslexia receive state money to attend private schools.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed House Bill 1046 on April 13, and it becomes law July 1.

Until now, students could only receive state money through sixth grade to attend a handful of state-accredited special private schools for children with learning disabilities.

The new law will expand the availability of state money through 12th grade.

The Mississippi Department of Education says 160 children statewide currently receive the aid.

Lou Salza's insight:

In OH families are fortunate to have a similar program named after the Representative that introduced the legislation: The John Peterson Special Needs Scholarship. Ohio provides about 4,000 scholarships to students ranging from $7,100 to $27,000 depending of the classification on the IEP. This is another great reason to live in NE OH! -Lou

The Head of School reports to a 23-member Board of Trustees, comprised of parents and alumni parents as well as professionals from the community who care deeply about children and families struggling with learning differences. For Lawrence’s next leader the Board seeks an individual of outstanding character, whose strategic educational and strategic fiscal management skills match the school’s culture and who will inspire and enable Lawrence School to achieve its vision for the future. Preferably, the next Head will have a background in working with students with learning differences and will fully appreciate the unique considerations of the families of these students.

Candidates interested in this position are asked to contact: John Mackenzie, Partner, Educators’ Collaborative, LLC. email: jmackenzie@educatorscollaborative.com, phone: 614-207-1006

Lou Salza's insight:

Candidates interested in this position are asked to contact: John Mackenzie, Partner, Educators’ Collaborative, LLC. email: jmackenzie@educatorscollaborative.com, phone: 614-207-1006

Your Mama Bear instinct is to protect your cub, and all you want is to hunt down that hateful girl and have her for lunch. Well, calm down and keep your claws and jaws to yourself. "The biggest mistake moms make is to become emotionally triggered," says family therapist Lucie Hemmen, Ph.D., author of The Teen Girl's Survival Guide and Parenting a Teen Girl: A Crash Course in Conflict, Communication, and Connection with your Teen Daughter. On top of raging maternal instinct, memories of your own girlhood pain start to emerge. These roiling emotions make it hard to focus on your daughter and may make her question if you can be the grounded, helpful resource she needs.

Lou Salza's insight:

All parents can help build resilience in their children when they complain about issues at school by simply acknowledging the issues and asking: " who at school can help you"? A confidential call to the school to alert us to the situation will help school personnel to recognize and support students in their work to resolve problems.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.